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| Anasuya Vaidya in a later production of The Ramayana. |
THE RAMAYANA
[Solo/Indian/Period] AD: Gopal Sharman; SC: Valmiki’s Indian epic, The Ramayana; D: Gopal Sharman (New York
production directed by Helen Breed); S: John C. MacGregor; L: Anasuya Vaidya;
P: Robert Hendrickson; T: Barbizon-Plaza Theatre (OB); 2/6/75-2/15/75 (6)
Jalabala Vaidya, a
renowned Indian actress, came to New York following a world tour
with her one-woman retelling of India’s epic tale, The Ramayana. Demonstrating what Richard Shepard called “a formidable range of virtuosity,”
she presented the ancient story in a carefully edited version in which she
played over 20 characters in “suitably heroic vein.” A bare stage was used for this
“honestly fashioned” work that served as a fine introduction to a great book of
the classical Asian past.
Many spectators left at intermission, unfortunately, perhaps
turned off by the “poetic language and philosophical meanderings,” as Sylviane
Gold surmised. One critic suggested that a narrator might have been used so
that Vaidya did not have to keep interrupting the plot line to describe
characters and locales. The actress’s talents were, however, distinctive. Gold
described her voice as “an instrument of countless octaves and colorations.”
According to Jalabala Vaidya’s Wikipedia article, the work
has been done over 2,000 times and is still in her company repertory. An
article from the Hindustani
Times covers the company and its ongoing presentation of The Ramayana, even in the age of
Covid-19.
In 1987, British director Peter Brook would stage
a world-renowned, full-scale adaptation of the other major Indian epic, The Mahabharata, at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music.
